Staff Tech Lead – Autonomous Driving Simulation

Waymo LLC; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 251,000 - 310,000; Full time

Job summary

Waymo is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to advance the Waymo Driver simulation and backend systems. You will collaborate with onboard, simulation, and infrastructure teams to design scalable software that powers autonomous driving development.

The role requires 6+ years of coding in C++, building widely used products, and strong backend experience with databases and SQL. We offer competitive salary, bonus eligibility, and equity within a distributed environment.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of software development experience
• Strong background in C++
• Hands-on experience building a popular product
• Experience on backend knowledge such as workflows, databases, SQL, debugging, production monitoring, etc

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with onboard and research engineers to expand simulation capabilities and achieve critical Waymo milestones.
• Monitor and improve the reproducibility, reliability, and usability of the Waymo simulator.
• Design long‑term architectures to accommodate a growing number of internal customers and product requirements.
• Bridge vehicle subsystems and simulation infrastructure to enhance overall robotic realism.
• Partner closely with collaborators from Simulator, Eval, Hardware, and Onboard orgs, integrating the building blocks they provide and turning them into reliable, reproducible simulation solutions.

Skills

C++

Backend development

SQL

Debugging

Production monitoring

Job description

Waymo is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to advance the Waymo Driver simulation and backend systems. You will collaborate with onboard, simulation, and infrastructure teams to design scalable software that powers autonomous driving development.

The role requires 6+ years of coding in C++, building widely used products, and strong backend experience with databases and SQL. We offer competitive salary, bonus eligibility, and equity within a distributed environment.